Gay-bashing hatemongers disrupt military funerals

[Hawkman]

Maybe you've seen reports of this on TV. It is incredible that people can be so venomous, so cruel, and at the same time so self-righteous. The Westboro Baptist Church, in Topeka, KS (it's amazing that it can be called a church) is run by a fanatic named Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr., abetted by his fanatical daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper.

In the '90s, this faux church took out its rage against people with AIDS, along with other gays and Lesbians. Now it has managed to twist the Iraqi war into a bizarre version of God's wrath against America. They even cheer the IEDs that kill American soldiers. Our servicemen and women deserve their horrific deaths, Phelps says, because the US fosters homosexuality. These weirdos attend military funerals--of all service people, not necessarily gay ones--carrying signs and shouting hate-filled words at grieving family members.

This from Wikipedia:

While from 1991 to 2004 the group spent a large portion of its time almost exclusively picketing businesses and events they believed to endorse homosexuality, in 2005 they changed their strategy entirely and now almost exclusively picket the funerals of soldiers killed in the war in Iraq. This is based around Phelps Sr.'s belief that the soldiers are being allowed to die by God as punishment for America's alleged sins against God, which Westboro has alternatively claimed as America's acceptance of homosexuality or a 1995 pipe bomb which exploded outside the home of one of Westboro's members, that Westboro claims was in retaliation for its activities....

The group has attracted controversy for welcoming both individual murders and large-scale disasters as divine retribution against gay and lesbian people, atheists, witches, and their "enablers," or America in general.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church

The haters are not shy about propagating their philosophy. Their motto is "God Hates Fags." This cartoon will give you an idea of their "Christian" approach to their fellow human beings:

Here's their website:
http://www.****************/main/index.html

Fortunately, a group of honorable motorcyclists has arisen to combat these freaks. They call themselves the Patriot Guard Riders, and they travel around the country, trying to be present at any military funeral a grieving family asks them to attend, in order to counteract the yelling and screaming of the haters:

Bikers roll to military funerals to oppose anti-gay protests

Tuesday, February 21, 2006; Posted: 7:55 a.m. EST (12:55 GMT)

FORT CAMPBELL, Kentucky (AP) -- Wearing vests covered in military patches, a band of motorcyclists rolls around the country from one soldier's funeral to another, cheering respectfully to overshadow jeers from church protesters.

They call themselves the Patriot Guard Riders, and they are more than 5,000 strong, forming to counter anti-gay protests held by the Rev. Fred Phelps at military funerals.

Phelps believes American deaths in Iraq are divine punishment for a country that he says harbors homosexuals. His protesters carry signs thanking God for so-called IEDs -- explosives that are a major killer of soldiers in Iraq.

The bikers shield the families of dead soldiers from the protesters, and overshadow the jeers with patriotic chants and a sea of red, white and blue flags.

"The most important thing we can do is let families know that the nation cares," said Don Woodrick, the group's Kentucky captain. "When a total stranger gets on a motorcycle in the middle of winter and drives 300 miles to hold a flag, that makes a powerful statement."

At least 14 states are considering laws aimed at the funeral protesters, who at a recent memorial service at Fort Campbell wrapped themselves in upside-down American flags. They danced and sang impromptu songs peppered with vulgarities that condemned homosexuals and soldiers.

The Patriot Guard was also there, waving up a ruckus of support for the families across the street. Community members came in the freezing rain to chant "U-S-A, U-S-A" alongside them.

"This is just the right thing to do. This is something America didn't do in the '70s," said Kurt Mayer, the group's national spokesman. "Whether we agree with why we're over there, these soldiers are dying to protect our freedoms."

Shirley Phelps-Roper, a daughter of Fred Phelps and an attorney for the Topeka, Kansas-based church, said neither state laws nor the Patriot Guard can silence their message that God killed the soldiers because they fought for a country that embraces homosexuals.

"The scriptures are crystal clear that when God sets out to punish a nation, it is with the sword. An IED is just a broken-up sword," Phelps-Roper said. "Since that is his weapon of choice, our forum of choice has got to be a dead soldier's funeral."

The church, Westboro Baptist Church, is not affiliated with a larger denomination and is made up mostly of Fred Phelps' extended family members.

During the 1990s, church members were known mostly for picketing the funerals of AIDS victims, and they have long been tracked as a hate group by the Montgomery, Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project.

The project's deputy director, Heidi Beirich, said other groups have tried to counter Phelps' message, but none has been as organized as the Patriot Guard.

"I'm not sure anybody has gone to this length to stand in solidarity," she said. "It's nice that these veterans and their supporters are trying to do something. I can't imagine anything worse, your loved one is killed in Iraq and you've got to deal with Fred Phelps."

Kentucky, home to sprawling Fort Campbell along the Tennessee line, was among the first states to attempt to deal with Phelps legislatively. Its House and Senate have each passed bills that would limit people from protesting within 300 feet of a funeral or memorial service. The Senate version would also keep protesters from being within earshot of grieving friends and family members.

Richard Wilbur, a retired police detective, said his Indiana Patriot Guard group only comes to funerals if invited by family. He said he has no problem with protests against the war but sees no place for objectors at a family's final goodbye to a soldier.

"No one deserves this," he said.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/02/21/funeral.motorcyclists.ap/

I applaud these biker dudes.

But how can we understand people who have made hatred the driving force of their lives?

I try to understand, but the answer always escapes me. Phelps and his brood represent nothing less than pure evil.

 

[beekman001]

Honestly the best way to deal with these people is to stage protests demonstrating the absurdity of their positions. I think Michael Moore's Sodomy mobile was a fantastic idea! If they're ever in your neighborhood, remember to go out and protest round earth theory with them!

 

[chargedensity]

if my child died at war and picketers showed up, honestly i would shoot as many of them as possible. as a grieving father i have that right and honest to god i would shoot as many of them as possible.

if i get convicted oh well, it would have been worth it. but i am 99% sure that as a grieving father of a child that died in a war, temporary insanity would get me off the hook. of this i am sure.

 

[jonjon35]

and they think we are the debauched sect, they're sick, they shouldn't let these people off their medications

 

[chargedensity]

hahhahah you guys are a riot

 

[MadeUpName27]

To: The Patriot Guard Riders

Thank You!

You are truly doing God's Work.

I salute you!

 

[webbybear]

Missouri has just passed a law on this--I'm not sure of the details, but it's now illegal to protest within a certain distance of a funeral. While I think it's a good intention, I don't know that it will hold up in court...I hope it does. What's really disturbing is that this law was even necessary.

And rather than going to Fred's site, I recommend:

http://www.godhatesfredphelps.com/

 

[yuty]

Isn't there law against this? I'm surprised none of the fellow soldiers shot their asses.....

 

[The_Reaper]

If Phelps is still alive in a few years, say about 10 - 15, after which point I become a politician here....I'm going to do everything in my power to block him and his family from ever entering Canada.

I think the entire website of "god hates canada".com, would be reason enough to make a solid case against him...

As for those bikers, they deserve a lot of applause and recognition for everything their doing. As much as I disagree with the Iraq War, I hold that against the government and NOT THE SOLDIERS fighting there.

If Phelps wanted to make sense (Oh, I'm sorry...A christian fundamentalist making sense? Not in this lifetime...) he'd be picketing the administration and telling THEM that until they "criminalize" homosexuality, their soldiers are going to keep dying..Actually, that doesn't make sense either...But sense doesn't play well with ANY OF THESE PEOPLE.

 

[Oden_grey]

Fred Phelps is so crazy he isn't even Christian anymore... he's the epitome of everything Christ rejected. God help me... because I am filling with so much hatred for that little man and his Satan worshiping shit hole he calls a Church. I feel that the Westboro Baptist Church should be burnt to the ground, every member of that traveling circus rounded up, and nailed alive upside down to trees and allowed to slowly die and rot in plain sight as an example to all.

But then again that would be very un-Christian of me... so I'll pray that God finally open their eyes to the poisons of their own hateful ways.

 

[Hawkman]

I feel that the Westboro Baptist Church should be burnt to the ground, every member of that traveling circus rounded up, and nailed alive upside down to trees and allowed to slowly die and rot in plain sight as an example to all.

Nailed upside down, rotting in plain sight...I wanna get in on the party.

But you can't burn their church to the ground, because it's already beneath the surface of the earth, in a region--if I remember correctly--ruled by some guy with horns on his head.

The church is located in the basement of Fred Phelps Sr.'s home, which sits in a large fenced compound occupied by nine of his thirteen children and their spouses (the other four children are estranged from the group). The vast majority of Westboro members are related to Phelps Sr. by blood or marriage.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church

 

[TriBi]

If there is a Hell....Phelps and Co will be rotting in it...

 

[snapcat]

Isn't there law against this? I'm surprised none of the fellow soldiers shot their asses.....

There is in Kentucky. The General Assembly just passed a law that no protesters of any kind can be within, say, 300 feet of the funeral. I'm not positive on the distance.

 

[radical matt]

Morons. Bastards. Heartless fakers.


There's really nothing more to say than that...

 

[MisterMatthew]

urgh she makes me soooo angry. But its also quite amusing how oblivious she is

 

[MisterMatthew]

damn it didn't work.

 

[smelter]

damn it didn't work.

Is this what you wanted to post?

 

[jackoroe]

Fred Phelps, religious adviser to the Republican National Socialist Committee and spiritual guru to the Bush crime family, is a coward. An easy way of making the right wingnut scarce is to withdraw police protection when he and his fellow freaks come to protest.

He and his nutty political off-shoots, like godhatesfags and the Westboro church, represent the WORST in America society.

WHY, I demand to know, does Phelps and the GOP condemn abortion, yet they support legalization of incest? I recall a couple of years ago when the entire Bush crime family attended one of Phelps' kooky rallies, this one called "Incest is Best" in Tampa, Florida.

Why does Phelps support continued Medicare payment of Viagra, yet he's against mandatory neutering of dogs and cats? I mean, does it reduce the pool of his potential sex partners?

If someone can explain this, then let them.

I've pointed out to you in the past Alfie, that Phelps is a Democrat. He was a Gore delegate to the dem convention. Now the gop has lots of assholes who readily identify themselves a Republicans. Mr. Phelps is yours, deal with him.

 

[maltese]

Yet another group the gay republicans promote and applaud.

Ah yes, the old Phelps party affiliation gambit comes up yet again! There are numerous threads here pointing out that to whatever degree Phelps is a member/affiliate of either political party, Phelps is a democrat. (both parties condemn him, and he doesn't have nice things to say about either party, either) Certain members feel that editing photos of his rallies together with GOP signs is witty humor, but other than that form of blatant forgery, Phelps isn't out there rallying for the GOP and vice versa.

Of course, more interesting to me is your statement:

Yet another group the gay republicans promote and applaud.

That's a pretty strong statement if true, and honestly, pretty hateful if it's not.

Since I've seen members of every political stripe around here roundly condemn Phelps and his ilk, and Phelps has no affiliation with the GOP...

Do you have any support for your statement, other than your personal worldview as expressed in one-line posts, that ANY gay Republican, either within JUB or beyond, promotes and applauds the hate of Fred Phelps? Any?

 

[JayHawk]

Gee, I wonder which Political Party Fred Phelps REALLY voted for...


http://www.lcrga.com/archive/200010251159.shtml

Wow, first John Gacy, now Phelps. Some people NEVER get it right...

Fred Phelps, former Democratic Party National Convention Delegate. Former Dem. candidate for Governor of Kansas. Friend of Al Gore and the Tipper...

Reality is so much more complicated then diatribes...

Wow and Archie Bunker up there said he was a GOP guy. I guess when you spew hate, just like the Phelps then you can't be right.

EEWW shit I just read that her little sister said the same thing. Goodness there is no bounds to hate